The national secretary of the Transport Workers’ Union says the Federal Government plans to close the Road Safety Remuneration Tribunal, showing contempt for the hundreds of families affected by transport industry road deaths, and callous disregard for the many pressures that drivers face.

A survey has shown that engineering students should be more aware of the public and social welfare issues in their projects, or risk focusing too much on the technical and not enough on the human element.

The thousand-or-so kilometres of highway between the southern end of the Northern Territory to the northern end of Western Australia may become a sealed toll road for trucks, if a local group gets its way.